The Winter Cumbrian Mountain 30th December.

Pic arriving at Carnforth today at http://philmetcalfe.fotopic.net/p62605544.html

 

Thanks Ralph, not as Sunny as yours though !!!

 

That's pretty much a normal formation and don't forget that only passenger carrying coaches are shown in the letter, so you can probably add the support coach, a kitchen car and another brake to the formation. making a total of 12.

 

That is a sign of the times Ralph, like Tornado running half empty round Kent, a few years ago enthusiasts would have been falling over each other to get a ticket, and comments like who wants to ride in the dark when there is nothing to see shows the lack of genuine interest in whats going on up front.

 

And its probably what keeps mainline steam going, so i'm gratefull for that.
Any idea who the crews are likely to be?

 

Splashed out on 1st class also- tickets arrived today.
Glad to hear the test run has been carried out. Should be a great day.

 

Gone are the days of PTR with 4 or 5 Std Class,just the Torbay's that carry on that tradition now. But i'm barred so i wouldn't know.

 

I will be in Coach A in the dining area, with my GPS and Memory Map software on the laptop, tracking our journey for times, speed etc.

It would be good to meet any NatPres listers, or to know where I can find you on the train.

Have a good Christmas, then we have a good day out on 30th, before what will undoubtedly be a Good New Year.

Peter, in a grey and slushy Manchester, on the afternoon of Christmas Eve
http://pjhrailpics.fotopic.net

 

Any chance of a few updates on the day Ralph?

I'll get in touch by txt

Cheers,
Mark

 

Its a sign of the times, if this trip had have been proposed in the early 80's you wouldnt have been able to get a ticket, they would have run it for weeks to forfill the demand.I suppose its the cost of the tickets now and the fact that we have been somewhat spoiled by having so many fantastic locos let lose on Shap and the S and C. I wouldnt have minded this trip my self but sadly now the cost of the tickets ( and having to travel at additional cost to pick up points), the fact that i got "burned" for over £200 when Kingfisher went belly up stops me for travelling any more. Sady its a case of once bitten twice shy.

 

I dont want to be too depressive, but the latest weather forecast for Shap summit on the 30th shows 20 mph plus Easterly winds, zero degrees temp and snow. Wrap up well if you dare venture out. Significant wind chill.

 

Yes,just hoping the snow stays south as the BBC seems to think it will,wind/cold doesn't bother me quite as much,if it snows,then its trouble.

From their site it seems as though it may just stay cold there between now and Wed's,lets hope so,as much as i want snow in the fot,noone wants too much to cause problems!

 

I hope the weather holds.....first steam tour for a long, long time.
Out of interest, if there was heavy snow up on Shap, would the trip be cancelled or re-routed?
Plenty to go at out of Manchester.

 

I think it would take more than is forecast,and i can imagine it would only get worse the further east you go!

 

Certainly for Tuesday it looks like East Wales and the West Midlands will catch the snow as a front moves up from the South West. So yes, lets hope Cumbria avoids the worst.

 

Well I live 800ft up in the hills of mid Wales and i'm booked on this with my dad who lives in Shropshire.. let's hope Arriva and Virgin can cope to get us to Preston on time... It certainly looking interesting.